Magazine-firearm.



..1'Io.,722,125. PATENTED MAR. a, 1903.

- A. MILLS. MAGAZINE FIREARM APPLICATION FILED AUG. 13, 1902.

. 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 IN VENTOR IME WITNESSES UNITED I STATES,

PATENT OFFICE.

ANSON MILLS, OF WASHINGTON, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.

MAGAZINE-FIREARM.

SPEcIFIcATIoN ibrming part of Letters Patent No. 722,125, dated March 3,1903.

Application filed August 13, 1902. Serial No. 119.527. (Nomodet) To allwhom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, ANSON M1LLs,.of the United States Army, (retired,)acitizen of the United States, residing in Washington city, in theDistrict of Columbia, have invented a new and useful Improvement inMagazine- Firearms, of which the following is a specification.

In magazine-firearms in which the ammunition is inserted into themagazine through the open top of the breech-frame the cartridgescomposing the charge,-some five in number, are usually associatedtogether and held in a metallic clip. Such, for example, is the practicein the case of a Mauser rifle. The soldier carries a number ofthesecharged clips on his person, and whenever he desires to charge themagazine of his rifle be, after opening the breech, takes one of thesecharged clips, applies it in upright position to the rifle, so that oneof its ends will fit and be held in a guide way formed for it in thebreech-frame, and then pushes the cartridges down out from the clip intothe magazine below. The clip is then removed from the rifle and inactive service at least is usually thrown away.

What I propose is to incorporate a guideclip into the gun itself, sothat it shall always be there at hand and in readiness to receive acharge of cartridges and to form a means by which the latter can beguided and directed into the magazine, hinging the clip to the gunsomewhat after the fashion of the graduated hind sight of a gun, so thatit may be turned up when it is to be used and turned downout of the waywhen its services are not required.

In the accompanying drawings, to which reference will now be made inorder to more fully explain my invention, Figure 1 is a side elevation,and Fig. 2 is a plan, of so much of a rifie of the Mauser pattern as isneeded to illustrate the invention. In both of these figures the bolt ofthe gun is pushed forward in p the breech-frame, the breech is closed,and the guide-clip is turned down. Fig. 3 is a side elevation'of thesame with the guide-clip turned up, showing in dotted lines a charge offive cartridges inserted into and held in it. Fig. 4 is a section online 44, Fig. 3, omitting the internal works of the magazine and otherparts of the gun. Fig. 5 is a vertical section of the lower part of theguide-clip. Fig. 6 is a face view of the guide-clip with the movableclip proper raised. Fig. 7 is asection on line 7 7, Fig. 4. Fig. 8 is aperspective view of the movable clip proper.-

A is the stock of the gun. B is the breechframe. 0 is the breech-boltfor closing the breech, arranged to fit and slide back and forth in alongitudinal guide-chamber 0, formed for it in the breech-frame. Thebreech-frame has on top an opening 0 in said longitudinal guide-chamber(which opening is of about the length of a cartridge) for the insertionthrough said opening 0 and chamber c of cartridges into the magazine M,located beneath said chamber and communicating therewith through anopening m, Fig. 4, to be closed, as usual, by an upwardlysp'ring-pressedfollower. (Not shown.) All these parts of the gun are of known construction, being found in magazine-rifles of the Mauser type now in use, andthey require, therefore, no detailed description or illustration.

The guide-clip is shown as hinged at d to the top of the breech-frame inrear of the opening 0 therein. It is of such length that when turneddown it is received in and extends to the front wall of the opening 0,as seen in Figs. 1 and 2, in which position it is held by a spring-latchf or other suitable means. The clip is so formed that when turned downit will form, in effect, a cover for the bolt when the latter is pushedforward and will be practically flush with the top of the breech-frame,so as not to interfere with the line of sight, for which purpose thelatch f also is located .to one side of the longitudinal axis of thegun, as seen in Fig. 2. It is also so formed, as indicated in Fig. 1,that when turned down it will not obstruct the side portion of opening0, through which the empty cartridge-shells are ejected.

The guide-clip in the present instance is formed of the clip proper, E,and the holder therefor, D. The holder is the part that is hinged at dto the breech-frame, and it is provided at its longer edges withguide-grooves d; The clip proper, E, has side flan ges e,which arereceived in the guide-grooves d, which latter retain the clip proper inthe holder D, while permitting it to slide up and down on the latter,the extent of the sliding movement being limited by pins 9 on the holderD,which project into a longitudinal slot it, formed in the clip proper,and it has also internal longitudinal grooves i to receive the flangedheads of the shells of the cartridges inserted in the clip, thesegrooves being flared a little at the top to facilitate the entrance ofthe cartridges.

When the guide-clip is in position for use, it is in the uprightposition shown in Figs. 3 and 4, with the clip proper, E, pushed down,so that its heel or lower end will reach into the cavity or chamber a inthe breech-frame in which the bolt moves. The heads of the cartridgescomprising the charge are then inserted into the clip proper,asindicated by dotted lines in Fig. 3, and the cartridges are then pusheddown in the usual way out from the clip and into the magazine below.When the guide-clip is no longer needed, the clip proper, E, is slid upor raised in the holder D, so that its heel will be above the level ofthe breech-frame, and the holder D is then turned down. The clip proper,E, when in its low position, as shown in Figs. 3 and 4, prevents theholder D from being turned down. It is only when it is raised so as toclear the breechframe, as in Fig. 6, that the device can be turned downupon its hinge d.

In conclusion I state that I do not limit myself to the structuraldetails hereinbefore set forth in illustration of my improvement, for

manifestly the same can be varied widely without departure from thespirit of the invention; but

What I claim herein as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, isas follows:

1. In a magazine-firearm, the breech-frame provided with a chamber 0 forthe breech-bolt, and an opening a in said chamber, and the magazinebeneath said chamber, in combination with a guide-clip hinged to thebreechframe at one end of the opening 0, adapted when turned down to liein said opening in the breech-frame out of the Way, and when turned upto receive a charge of cartridges and guide and conduct the same downthrough the opening 0' and chamber a, into the magazine, substantiallyas set forth.

2. In a magazine-firearm the combination with the breech-frame of aguide-clip consisting of a holder hinged thereto, and a clip properconstituting a guideway for the charge of cartridges to be delivered tothe magazine, held to and longitudinally movable on said holder,substantially as and for the purposes hereinbefore set forth.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 12th day ofAugust, 1902.

ANSON MILLS.

Witnesses:

EWELL A. DICK, MARoELLUs BAILEY.

